Chatwoot is a customer support tool for Developers and Small businesses, offered as open source ($19/mo). Founded in India in 2019.
About Chatwoot
Chatwoot is an open-source customer engagement platform started in India in 2019 that gives support teams one shared inbox for website live chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, LINE and SMS. The core is MIT licensed and can be self-hosted; Chatwoot Cloud offers the same product as a managed service priced per agent.
Agents work conversations with assignments, labels, private notes, canned responses, macros and automation rules, while a help center publishes knowledge base articles. Campaigns send proactive messages to website visitors, CSAT surveys measure satisfaction, and Captain adds an AI agent that answers from your documentation plus a copilot that drafts replies for human agents. A full REST API, webhooks and agent bots allow custom workflows, and integrations cover Slack, Dialogflow, Linear and Shopify. The cloud edition has a small free tier, then Startups, Business and Enterprise plans; self-hosting the community edition is free with unlimited agents.
Chatwoot suits businesses that run support on WhatsApp and social channels, companies needing data residency, and teams looking for a lower-cost alternative to Intercom or Zendesk. Reporting, workforce management and voice are lighter than in those incumbents, and self-hosting means maintaining Postgres, Redis and background workers. Crisp is a comparable affordable SaaS option, while Freshdesk offers more mature ticketing.
Captain, the AI layer introduced in 2024 and 2025, is the most significant recent addition.
Key features of Chatwoot
- Omnichannel inbox with WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, SMS
- Website live chat widget and help center
- Automation rules, macros, canned responses and labels
- Captain AI agent and copilot
- Campaigns (ongoing and one-off) and CSAT surveys
- Self-hosted (Docker, Heroku, Kubernetes) or cloud
Pros and cons
Pros
- Open source with permissive license
- Excellent WhatsApp and social channel coverage
- Affordable cloud pricing
- Complete API and webhooks
Cons
- Reporting is basic
- Self-hosting needs ops attention
- Fewer integrations than Zendesk
- Enterprise controls still maturing
Chatwoot pricing
Chatwoot uses a open source model. A 15-day free trial is available.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Community (self-hosted) | $0 | Free forever, self-hosted |
| Hacker (Cloud) | $0 | 2 agents, 500 conversations/mo, live chat only |
| Startups | $19 / agent/mo | All channels, 300 Captain AI credits/mo |
| Business | $39 / agent/mo | Voice, automation, 500 Captain AI credits/mo |
| Enterprise | $99 / agent/mo | SSO/SAML, audit logs, 800 Captain AI credits/mo |
Source: www.chatwoot.com · checked on Oct 20, 2026
How Chatwoot compares in Customer support
- Rank by votes
- #1 / 25
- Starting price
- $19
- Free alternatives
- 2
0 votes from members
34% below the category median ($29/mo)
Free or open-source tools in Customer support
Chatwoot ranks #1 of 25 customer support tools by community votes and is priced below most tools in the category.
Common use cases
- 1Business handling WhatsApp and Instagram support in one inbox
- 2Startup self-hosting support for data residency
- 3Agency offering white-label support tooling
- 4Replacing Intercom to cut costs
Best for
Companies that want open source, WhatsApp-first support or a low-cost Intercom alternative.
Not ideal for
Enterprises needing deep analytics, WFM and voice.
Integrations
- Facebook Messenger
- Telegram
- Line
- SMS (Twilio)
- Slack
- Dialogflow
- OpenAI
- Webhooks
Our take
Chatwoot is the best open-source support inbox and the strongest choice for WhatsApp-heavy markets. Cloud is cheap; self-host if you have an ops person.
FAQ
- What is Chatwoot?
- Chatwoot is a Customer support tool: Open-source customer engagement suite.
- How much does Chatwoot cost?
- Chatwoot is Open source; there is no mandatory paid plan.
- Does Chatwoot have a free trial?
- Yes, Chatwoot offers a 15-day free trial.
- What does Chatwoot integrate with?
- Chatwoot integrates with WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Line, SMS (Twilio) and more.
- Which platforms does Chatwoot support?
- Chatwoot is available on web, ios, android.
- Who is Chatwoot for?
- Companies that want open source, WhatsApp-first support or a low-cost Intercom alternative.
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